No Fear!

The fear of the wicked will come upon him, and the desire of the righteous will be granted (Proverbs 10:24).

Fear and doubt are the twin enemies of the believer. Fear attracts the enemy the way faith attracts God! Fear is really faith in the negative. It is believing the wrong thing.

The enemy can smell fear a mile away! Job’s problems were a result of his allowing fear into his life. For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me (Job 3:25). Satan had spoken to God about Job and was taunting God about Job and his faith. The Lord told Satan that Job was already in his hands. How? Job had opened the door for Satan to rob and steal and kill through fear. The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe (Proverbs 29:25).

Fear is never the will of God! When an angel had a message for an individual it was usually prefaced with fear not! Face your fears today and refuse to give in to them. Resist them with the Word of God! God hasn’t given us a spirit that cowers to fear. He has given us a spirit of power, and of love and of a sound mind.

Fear can be an acronym for False Evidence Appearing Real. Satan is a master of disguise. He’ll wrap a problem up in fear and make you thing there’s no way out. It’s a bluff and a lie! Faith in the Word is the answer to fear! Commit yourself to the Father, believe you receive when you pray, and refuse to allow fear to dominate you.

Years ago I was on a missions trip and the ministry we were working with had a airplane that took the volunteer workers to the missions site. The plane crashed in bad weather while we were there and I was one of those who went to the sight to help survivors. When I arrived at the crash site and saw the plane wreckage, a strong fear suddenly grabbed me. At the same time, I heard the words; you better cancel that next missions trip you’ve planned. This may happen again (I had another trip planned a couple of months away).

Intuitively I knew that this fear was the enemy speaking. I immediately spoke out loud; I will not live my life in fear! I will go on the next trip and I won’t be afraid! As soon as the words came out of my mouth, the fear disappeared.

Never yield to fear. Commit you way to the Lord. Stand in faith. Speak God’s Word and refuse to yield to circumstance. The Word is the antidote to fear. Meditate on the Word instead of the fear thoughts that come. Find scripture that specifically refutes the lies and think on them!

Since God is for you, your enemies don’t stand a chance! Walk by faith and not by sight! We are more than conquerors! Fear not!

A Holy Spirit Prayer Agenda

There are times in prayer that we need to allow the Holy Spirit to set the agenda. Instead of us praying what we know to pray from our heads, we need a time where the Holy Spirit is allowed to set the agenda. That’s the kind of prayer meeting we will have.

 

Let me explain what I mean by the Holy Spirit setting the agenda. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 14:14 (Amplified): For if I pray in an [unknown] tongue, my spirit [by the Holy Spirit within me] prays, but my mind is unproductive [it bears no fruit and helps nobody].  Praying in the spirit is praying in tongues. It is your own spirit communing with the Father about things your mind does not know. 1 Corinthians 14:2 (Amplified) reads: For one who speaks in an [unknown] tongue speaks not to men but to God, for no one understands or catches his meaning, because in the [Holy] Spirit he utters secret truths and hidden things [not obvious to the understanding].

 

So here’s how you cooperate with the Holy Spirit in prayer. Find a spot and get your mind and body quiet. Instead of allowing your thoughts to race and meander onto anything, make your thoughts concentrate on the Lord. Start praying in the spirit or in tongues. As you do, mentally see yourself right before the throne of God (See Hebrews 4:16). You’re not talking to Him from your mind, but from your spirit. This is spirit to spirit communion with the Lord.

 

Then as you continue to pray in the spirit, at some point there will be an anointing that will start from your spirit and rise up. Words may begin to float from your spirit to your mind. When they do, pray them out in English. Notice that Paul said in 1 Corinthians 14:15 (Amplified): Then what am I to do? I will pray with my spirit [by the Holy Spirit that is within me], but I will also pray [intelligently] with my mind and understanding; I will sing with my spirit [by the Holy Spirit that is within me], but I will sing [intelligently] with my mind and understanding also.

  

Ask the Lord before you begin to pray to help you to know what you’re praying about with your spirit as He deems it necessary. 1 Corinthians 14:13 (Amplified) encourages this: Therefore, the person who speaks in an [unknown] tongue should pray [for the power] to interpret and explain what he says.

 

I was baptized in the Holy Spirit on Sunday, September 12, 1976, at 7:20 PM at the Florence Tabernacle at 600 East Palmetto Street in Florence, SC! Since that time, I’ve spent time every single day praying in the spirit in other tongues. And if you’ll allow the Holy Spirit to set the agenda in some of your prayer times, you’ll have some awesome experiences in God.

 

We will be praying in this manner this Saturday night at 6:00pm in our auditorium if you’d like to come. I’ll give some brief instruction to everyone, and then we’ll turn it over to the Spirit of God to help us pray. It usually takes a bit of time praying in the spirit for the Holy Spirit to begin to give understanding as we speak out in English, but when the words rise from your spirit to your mind in English, let them flow! Come and expect the Lord to meet us. You won’t be disappointed!

The Prayer Habit

…Steadfastly maintain the habit of prayer (Romans 12:12-J.B. Phillips).

The Father wants us to develop our intimacy in prayer with Him. He wants prayer to become a habit. The prayer habit will be one habit that can transform the atmosphere of your life.

 

E.W. Kenyon in his book In His Presence says: Prayer should be as natural as breathing and as enjoyable as eating. Prayer should be as unconscious as our communication with one another. He goes on the say: You can’t spend any length of time in prayer without being affected by it. The quietness, the unshaken faith, the deep unsounded peace that pervades the Godhead, will overflow into the prayer’s life.

 

Many people find prayer a great challenge. The flesh struggles with relating to a God you can’t see. But God is the Father of spirits. He relates to our spiritual nature, not to our mentality and emotions. Here are some tips to help develop the prayer habit.

First, you must know that the Father sees you as righteous; that is. As though you had never sinned! Our sin debt has been completely paid by Jesus, and God sees us as pure as Jesus before Him! It’s as though we have never sinned!

 

Secondly, you must know that The Father loves you as much as He does His own Son. In John 17:23, Jesus prays that he Father will reveal to us the fact that You have loved them as you have loved me!  You must know that you are endeared to the heart of the Father, and that He wants your companionship and fellowship.

 

Then you must begin to develop you fellowship with Him based on your right standing with Him according to the Word; not according to your feelings. Take some time to get alone and just tell Him that you love Him and tell Him how glad you are to be saved from sin and redeemed from hell.

 

Then, remind Him of what His word says about you, and of what His word says about answered prayer. Talk to Him in specific terms about every single concern you have in life, and ask Him specifically to help you. Share your heart life with Him. Bear to Him your thoughts and feelings and ask for His aid.

 

Take time too to pray in the spirit, in other tongues. Your spirit, in communion with the Holy Spirit will pray God’s perfect will in all areas of your life.

 

Start slowly. You may pray to begin with for ten or fifteen minutes. That’s just fine. If you keep it up every day, you’ll find the need to pray longer. You’ll find it easier and easier to express your heart and you’ll begin to want to take more time.

  

Life will become a partnership between you and the Father. You’ll begin to talk over every problem, every challenge, and every circumstance good and bad with Him. And before long, you will have developed and unconscious communion with Him that will erase fear and worry from your life.

 

Prayer will become and unconscious act of communion throughout your day. Daunting impossibilities will turn into opportunities for your Father to show Himself strong in your life. You’ll begin to fulfill Proverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. 

A Dream

Some time ago I had a dream which I believe was from the Lord. In the dream, I was with a number of people from our church. The setting seemed to be that we were engaging the enemy in some kind of battle. We all had rifles and weapons. I was being fired upon by a guy with a rifle. And I was asking the others with me to help cover me. But instead of helping, they were just sitting there with their arms by their side as if in a semi-conscious state or half-sleeping. They just would not help me. I shot at the enemy myself and I was concerned that I would be hit. Those with me seemed oblivious to my plight! I called out and called out but those with me just would not help me!

 

We are living in dangerous days just prior to the rapture of the church and the second coming of Christ. It seems as though we are very close to the time of tribulation spoken of by Jesus. We should be rising up to win the lost and minister to the multitudes in darkness around us. This is the time to believe for a harvest of souls and to be aggressive in the things of God.

 

Yet too many believers act as though they are asleep, absorbed in life and its activities and unaware of the actual dangers that are around spiritually. Soldiers must remain alert if they are to prevail in conflict.

  

A battle is not won by an army of one! A battle is won when the soldiers work together for the common cause of victory, helping one another and together aggressing to root out the enemy. When one soldier is attacked the others come to his aid.

 

Let’s arouse ourselves out of our slumber and pay attention to what happening around us with the deepening darkness. We have the tools for victory in this fight of faith. We have the Word of God, the Name of Jesus, the blood of Jesus, and praise and worship as the weapons of our warfare. If we sleep in the day of battle, we will lose the fight. But if we remain alert and aware, the Lord will enable us to win!

 

And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts (Romans 13:11-14).

 

But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, "Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.  But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.

You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.

Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him (1 Thessalonians 5:1-10).

Stay awake!

Seedtime and Harvest

While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease (Genesis 8:22).

  

Seedtime and harvest is a universal law of God on earth and in the kingdom of God. Everyday, with every act, we are planting seeds that will produce a harvest!

The harvest is determined by the seeds that are planted.

  

What kind of harvest are you expecting in the various areas of your life? Look at the seeds currently being planted by your words, thoughts, attitudes, and actions! Tomorrow’s health, material well being, relational stability, spiritual stamina, etc., are determined by what you sow today. You just don’t get something for nothing!

 

Give and it will be given to you: good measure pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you (Luke 6:38). This law is as stable as the rising and setting of the sun. Cooperate with it, and you’ll have a life of blessing. Work against it, and misery will keep you company!

 

Paul said it this way: Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

 

Let’s sow seeds today that will benefit the kingdom of God, and that will bring blessing to others and to our own lives. Sow time in the Word and in prayer today. Sow words that bless, heal, inspire, quicken, and mend. Sow attitudes that will glorify God and exalt Jesus. Sow actions that will produce health and plenty. You’re casting seed today with every action. Make it count!

Calling Those Things That Do Not Exist as Though They Did

(As it is written, "I have made you a father of many nations) in the presence of Him whom he believed — God, Who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did (Romans 4:17).

  

God wants us to imitate Him in all things. One of the ways He desires that we imitate Him is in calling those things that do not exist as though they did. The above verse is rich in helping us understand the basic concepts of walking by faith.

 

First of all, notice that it says that God calls things that do not exist as though they did. Calls in this verse refers to speaking words. And that’s an important part of understanding faith. Faith must be released with words!  And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, "I believed and therefore I spoke, we also believe and therefore speak (2 Corinthians 4:13). But what does it say? The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart (that is, the word of faith which we preach) (Romans 10:8).

 

Faith never floats out of our heart independent of our words. Words convey faith from the human spirit to God.

  

Then notice in this verse that God calls those things that do not exist as though they did. He changed Abram (exalted father) to Abraham (father of a multitude). Jesus is the lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

  

Everything exists in two realms; first the spiritual and then the natural. God spoke the world into existence from things unseen with words (Hebrews 11:3).

  

To put this together, I must speak what God says about me and my life even when it doesn’t seem that it is true. I must say I believe I’m healed according to the word while the symptoms get worse in my body. I must say my God is meeting all my needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus while the bills are piling up. I must say in all these things I am more than a conqueror through Him who loved me while I feel defeated. I must say He promised to never leave me or forsake me even when I feel alone!

  

Faith receives before it sees the results. It believes before there is any manifestation of the answer to prayer. And it talks the way it wants things to be, not the way they are!

  

Start today to call those things that do not exist as thought they did and watch the miracle working power of God work for you!

Don’t Quit!

And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns (Phil 1:6 – NLT).

  

This verse has been a great encouragement to me over the years. Discouragement and disappoint affect us all at times. At one point in my life, it seemed as though all that the Lord had done in me was for nothing. The enemy attacked me with discouragement as I looked back at where I had been and then looked at where I was at that time in my walk with the Lord. My goals had not been realized. My plans had been hampered by circumstances beyond my control.

 

I’ve found that the toughest times in life can actually be the times of greatest spiritual growth. As fire tempers metal, difficulties have a way of bringing the dross to the surface in us.

  

The Holy Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance. When the Father brought you into His family, He placed a down payment within you. The indwelling Holy Spirit is the guarantee that He will finish what He started.

 

Listen to Him speak to you today:

The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever; Do not forsake the works of Your hands (Psalm 138:8).  The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day (Proverbs 4:18 - NIV). Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:12-13).  But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord (2 Corinthians 3:18).

 

The Lord is well able to finish what He started in you. Don’t give up while in process! 

Prove Yourself Faithful

So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful (1 Corinthians 4:1-2-NIV).

 

Nothing can take the place of faithfulness in the life of a believer. When filling a position the world looks for qualifications. But when God is looking for someone to work for Him, He looks for faithfulness.

 

Faithfulness has to do with personal character. It’s doing the right thing because of principle rather than personal preference or feeling. What you are in the small things you will be in the big thing God calls you to do. For this reason, the Lord often starts us out in the ministry of helps if He’s calling us to ministry. There in the smaller responsibility character can be proven.

 

The Lord has often placed me in situations that were less than I wanted them to be. I know now that He was seeking to help me build character. He wanted to use me as a pastor so He placed me in situations that I could prove myself faithful when it wasn’t easy; when I disagreed with leadership; when I thought I knew a better way of doing this or that. Thankfully, I passed the tests.

 

The Father requires faithfulness from us all. Faithfulness will open the door to the will of God for your life and will move you into the position that Jesus has for you in the body of Christ. Could you be called a faithful person?

 

Look for ways to be faithful in your local church in the ministry of helps. Remember that the Father sees not only what we do but why we do it. Make a choice to honor the Father with your actions and attitudes. Be respectful of those that the Father places over you in the Lord. Flow with them even when it’s not convenient. If you do, then place the Lord has for in the family will eventually open up to you.

 

You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also (2 Timothy 2:1-2).

The Healing Word

He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions (Psalm 107:20).

My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. (21) Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; (22) For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh (Proverbs 4:20-22).

The will of God is healing and health. It’s important to take some time daily and feed on the word to build up your faith in the Father for healing. Faith comes by hearing the Word over and over again and then practicing it. I regularly spend time meditating on the healing word.

Read the following scriptures and then take some time to meditate them. Let them revolve slowly over and over in your mind. This is God’s medicine. Allow it to do its healing work in you. Ask for, and then expect God’s healing power to heal you and keep you healed!                                   

And said, If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you (Exodus 15:26). So you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you (Exodus 23:25). And the Lord will take away from you all sickness, and will afflict you with none of the terrible diseases of Egypt which you have known, but will lay them on all those who hate you (Deuteronomy 7:15). Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases (Psalm 103:1-3). He also brought them out with silver and gold, and there was none feeble among His tribes (Psalm 105:37). My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart; for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh (Proverbs 4:20-22). He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:3-5). That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses (Matthew 8:17). Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness — by whose stripes you were healed (1 Peter 2:24). How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him (Acts 10:38).

Keep Your Faith Strong

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17).

  

We need to feed our faith daily on the Word! Faith is the victory that overcomes the attacks that come against you in a fallen world. Hear Jesus say to you today: If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.

 

 Right now in the circumstances of my life my faith is either pulling me towards or unbelief is pushing me away from: healing in some part of my body, financial supply, change in a grueling circumstance, a better job position,  or daily ministry to the unsaved.

 

Time spent building up your faith today by meditating in the Word will ensure that you’ll have the needed faith when a crisis arises in your life or with some family member. Don’t wait until you need it to get faith. Plan ahead and build it up now. I take time every day to meditate on scripture and build up my faith. In the end, it’s what I can believe that determines what I receive from the Lord.

 

Don’t be like the people in Jesus’ home town who limited Him by their unbelief. Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.  And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching (Mark 6:5-6).Give Jesus the ability to live big in you and minister strongly through you by keeping your faith fed on the word of God every day.

 

I’ll leave you with these familiar passages for meditating on to build up your faith in the Word:

God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? (Numbers 23:19) My covenant I will not break, nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips (Psalm 89:34). Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven (Psalm 119:89). The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever (Isaiah 40:8). So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper  in the thing  for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:11) Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away (Matthew 24:35). For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them (Mark 11:23-24).

   

Pray Daily for Government Leaders

Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence (1 Timothy 2:1-2). The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes (Proverbs 21:1).

 

A daily part of your personal prayer life should be praying for our president and those in authority over us. The office of king or in our case president is a God ordained position. You may not agree with the person in the office, but we are commanded to pray for them. In doing so, God can intervene and bring needed change.

  

This praying for leaders command is even more important in the election season that has begun. Radically different ideologies are contesting for public office. Radically different ways of seeing the world and of dealing with social, financial, and international problems are and will be offered.

 

Our nation is in a precarious place with financial difficulty, shifting cultural mores, and international challenges unprecedented in scope. We need a leader who depends on a higher wisdom, who will stand for what is right in the face of mounting pressure from all sides. As a nation we need to bow our knee to the Almighty and ask for mercy and grace. If we do not, it seems that the judgment of God is looming. By judgment, I mean God’s backing away from us with His favor and protection, and allowing the enemy to come in to kill, steal, and destroy. Obedience, humility, repentance, and faith will garner God’s help in this great hour of struggle.

The creation of a Palestinian state is news headlines now. The North African and Middle East Nations are rising up in opposition of Israel remaining in their currently defined homeland. The nations that resist God’s prophesied purposes for Israel in this hour will inherit a curse and will suffer devastating consequences (see Zechariah 12:1-3). Will our nation continue its support of our long time friend or will we take the politically correct favored by over one hundred nations of the world?

 

This is a time of preparation and prayer. The world is heading towards its toughest days since the creation of man, toward the judgment of nations and peoples who refuse God’s mercy and thumb their nose at His rule and Kingdom, and then the second coming of Christ. The church is headed towards heaven. We must rise up in this hour and win souls, taking as many people as we can with us. People are desperate for the hope we have.

  

Let’s let our light shine brightly. Engage in the political process by first of all praying and then becoming informed on the beliefs of candidates as they run for elected office. Make sure you cast your vote during this next election. The fate of our nation is at stake.

Become involved in daily personal evangelism by showing the love of God in practical, tangible ways that move people to ask you questions about who you are and what you believe (see 1 Peter 3:15). This is the hour for us to shine!

Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising (Isaiah 60:1-3).

Grace Empowers

But He said to me, My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully]; for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and show themselves most effective in your weakness. Therefore, I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me. So for the sake of Christ, I am well pleased and take pleasure in infirmities, insults, hardships, persecutions, perplexities and distresses; for when I am weak [in human strength], then am I [truly] strong (able, powerful in divine strength) (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

 

Grace is unmerited favor. Another definition of grace that I came across years ago is God’s ability to help you do what you can’t do yourself. Grace helps your inability and your weakness. We’re helpless to save ourselves from our sins so God’s gives us His grace through faith and we enter the family of God and or sins are cleansed.

 

Faith changes things and circumstances as we exercise it and stand in the tough times. But grace is directed towards us personally. Faith changes things but grace changes people.

  

Grace helps me in every small detail of life. Grace quickens, empowers, motives, and changes me. Jesus by the grace of God took our sins and freed us from its wages. When I come to the end of myself and feel whipped, defeated, and powerless, grace enters, lifts me up, and enables me in the impossible circumstance.

 

Hebrews 4:16 (Amplified) tells us that God’s throne is a throne of grace. We can approach it with boldness to find the necessary strength to face every challenge that life brings our way: Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God's unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it].

 

Grace is accessed by prayer. Jesus obtained tremendous grace in the garden of Gethsemane during a time of prayer to go to the cross and become our sin. Grace empowers, quickens, motivates, and changes. Though the test be great, the power in grace is greater. If it was available to Jesus in His greatest time of earthly testing, it is available to you and me now.

  

Today, grace is available for every challenge you face. Divine ability is waiting for you to tap into it to help you in family matters, in tense relationships on the job, in situation with your children, or to enable you to conquer a life dominating habit. Let’s approach the throne of grace early today and obtain the necessary grace for this day’s challenges. We are never alone. The Father’s ability, strength, wisdom, guidance, life, power, and nature are ours today. It’s called GRACE. Spend some knee time accessing it!

The Practical Walk of Faith

Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them (Mark 11:24).

 

Some time ago a person asked me a question regarding how standing in faith works with respect to being in relationship to others. One of the values that we hold at Victory Church is relationships. The person mentioned to me that when I talk about walking by faith and believing that I receive from the Lord, I usually don’t tell others that I’m in a battle. I usually just act on the word, believe that I receive the answer to my prayer, and act as though I have the answer. The question was, how do you relate closely to others when believing you receive if you don’t talk to them about it?

 

Faith is believing God’s word in the face of physical contradiction. Hebrews 11:1 tells us that faith is the substance (literally- the title deed) of the things we hope for and the evidence (that which supports the existence of something) of things not seen. Faith takes the place of what you don’t physically have until it shows up! Faith is the guarantee that what you are believing for exists, and if you continue to believe it will sooner or later manifest in the physical realm.

 

Another aspect of faith is that it is released with words. Hebrews 11:3 reveals: By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. Faith and words go hand in hand. So, if I’m really standing in faith and not doubting God’s word to me, then I have a confident expectation that what God promised me belongs to me right now! And if I have the expectation that what God promised me belongs to me right now, then I’m going to reflect that confidence in what I say! You could say it this way, if I’m not talking by faith, then I’m not walking by faith!

 

So how do I relate to others when I’m believing I receive and still struggling with circumstances that are grueling and tough and still look and feel terrible? Here’s what separates the men from the boys. If I really believe that I receive what I’m believing for, then I’m really excited inside about it eventually manifesting. And every day there is an expectation that what I’m believing God for will manifest that day!

 

If it’s obvious to those that I closely relate to that I haven’t received the manifestation of what I believe and they ask me about it, I respond: Yes, it may look that way, but according to God’s word I have believed that I receive the answer to my prayer of faith. And I believe that my faith is giving substance to what I’ve hoped for. One day you’ll see that I have what I asked for! Please agree with me in faith as I stand, will you?

 

Of course, if a person is struggling to stand in faith, and they are having a hard time with the circumstance, then close relationships with folk that will assist them in faith can be a great encouragement.

 

If you are struggling to stand in faith, take the struggle to the Lord and pour your heart out to Him and tell Him in detail what you think and feel. But don’t just stop there. Go to His Word, and meditate on His Word that promises you an answer. Then go to a person who will stand in faith with you, and have them agree with you in prayer. We can be a great strength to each other when facing a crisis.

 

Let me mention here to make sure that you go to a person who will encourage you in faith and not drag you down further into the circumstance by siding with your doubts! Some people will never hear from me if I’m standing in faith and need encouragement, because I know they will only be pessimistic and not help me! So find a believer, a person who will encourage you and let them agree with you in faith. And let us consider and give attentive, continuous care to watching over one another, studying how we may stir up (stimulate and incite) to love and helpful deeds and noble activities (Hebrews 10:24).

 

Control Your Thoughts!

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy — meditate on these things (Philippians 4:8).

  

For us to experience the best that God has for us in this life, we must take control of our thought life. Most people allow their thoughts to meander unbridled throughout the day. Thought association occurs in a millisecond. You hear a song, you smell something, you see something, and your mind associates the present event with something in your past.

 

When I first came to the Lord, I found this happening to me every day. It was as though my mind was trying to hijack my relationship with the Lord. At the time I was going to college and working in a grocery store stocking shelves. It doesn’t take a lot of thought to put a can on a shelf, and I had a lot of time for my mind to wander.

 

I would allow my mind to wander for several hours before I recognized what was happening. The new birth changed my spirit; old things pass away and all things  became new. But my mind was largely unaffected. It was still filled with the debris from my old sinful life. Left alone, my mind would seek to pull me away from God back into familiar paths of thought. Emotions and thoughts go hand in hand, and I would feel spiritually away from God after these episodes.

 

I decided that if I was going to be a committed believer I must also commit my mind to the Lord. So I began to assert control over my thought life. To begin with I tried to make negative thinking leave by praying, by commanding Satan to leave in the name of Jesus, or by praising God. None of this worked.

 

I decided to take a scripture a day, place it on a note card, and when I had idle mental time I would pull that note card out and look at the scripture. Once I had it memorized, I would force myself to think on it. I found that I could make my mind think on what I wanted it to think on! This revolutionized my life.

 

I was so undisciplined mentally that my mind would wander for hours and I didn’t realize it. As I kept reigning it in by catching myself thinking on wrong things, I found  that the time that “out of control” thinking ruled me lessened over time. Now, over thirty years later, I catch myself almost immediate when my thoughts stray.

 

I would use the above scripture written on a note card to challenge my thoughts. Make a decision today to assert control over your mind. Don’t allow it to wander off into negative things. Think on things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, virtuous or positive, and praiseworthy. Your life will change, and Jesus will become real to you!

 

Be Mentally Self-Controlled

Satan works in the realm of thoughts and feelings. He has the ability to place thoughts in our minds. He can manipulate the senses and make us feel certain things. That’s the reason that we must walk by faith and not by sight! 

  

Satan’s first line of attack is in our thoughts. Notice 1 Peter 5:8: Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. The Greek word for sober could be translated be mentally self controlled, or be free from mental intoxicants. He seeks to plant a thought of fear or doubt in our mind and then get us to act on it so that he can in some way steal, kill, and destroy. So it’s important that we guard our thoughts carefully. The word vigilant in this verse means to be ever on your guard.

 

Ephesians 6:11 reads: Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  The word wiles here is from the Greek word methodia. Methodia is a compound word taken from the Greek words meta (with) and hodos (road). Together they mean with a road, revealing that Satan has a route or a road that he travels on when attacking you. That road is your thought life.

 

2 Corinthians 2:11 reveals: Lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices. The word devices in the Greek is noema and refers to the thoughts. You could translate the latter part of this verse: for we are not ignorant of his mind games! Satan seeks to use your own thoughts against you.

 

Then notice 2 Corinthians 10:3-5: For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. Our fight is to keep our thoughts free from the negatives, doubt, fear, and impurity that Satan brings. Our battle is in the realm of thinking. Spiritual warfare occurs between our ears!

 

 Lastly, let me refer you to what I call the Christian’s “think list.” Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

 (Philippians 4:8- KJV). The quality of your Christian life is directly related to the quality of your thoughts.

  

As you go through your day today, compare your thought life to the list. Are your thoughts, true honest, just, pure, lovely, positive, and worthy of praise? If not, change them! Your peace, joy, and success in God today will be directly related to what you do with your idle mental time!

Keep your thoughts clean and positive and allow the Father to work in you and through you. Put up a roadblock on the road Satan wants to travel to gain entrance into your life. Be mentally self-controlled! Don’t play Satan’s mind games!

Faith Overcomes

Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one (Ephesians 6:16).

  

It’s the shield of faith that quenches all the fiery darts that the enemy throws at you. We need to remind ourselves regularly that we don’t wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the dark hosts of Satan. He has a legal right to rule over the unsaved and will also assert his influence over believers who don’t know and act on the word. Jesus has given us authority over them!

 

Satan has the ability to put a thought in your mind and place a feeling on your body. But he can’t touch you if make a decision to live by the word! When thoughts come that disagree with the Word, refuse to think them. When feelings come that disagree with the word, don’t live by them. Our authority over Satan and his emissaries comes by walking by faith in the Word of God.

 

When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, Jesus responded over and over again with it is written. And that’s the way we’re to deal with the devil today.

 

When thoughts of doubt and fear come, respond with it is written. When feelings of sickness attack, respond with it is written. When circumstances seem unrelenting and defeat seems inevitable, respond with it is written!

 

The victory that over comes the world is our faith. And faith is acting on and speaking the Word of God in the face of negative circumstances. Act on God’s Word in every area of life today. Refuse to dwell on the negative thoughts that come. Act on God’s Word in spite of feelings that tell you you’re not going to make it. Greater is He who is in you than He who is in the world! Remember that all things are possible with God, and all things are possible to him who believes!

  

Three Hindrances to Healing

It is the will of God for every believer to walk in Divine health. Provision for our healing and health are included in our redemption in Christ. The same faith that saves also heals! The Father forgives all of our sins and heals all of our diseases (Psalm 103:3).

  

Though the Father has provided salvation for all, it is not an automatic guarantee. Personal faith must be exercised in the sacrifice of Jesus for a person to experience salvation. In the same way, person faith must be exercised for an individual believer to receive healing and walk in the health that Jesus desires that they have.

 

If a believer is sick and fails to receive healing, there are three main reasons: Lack of knowledge, lack of faith, or disobedience.

   

The first reason is lack of knowledge. Most Christians are in this category. They go to church week after week, but never hear about the provision of healing that Jesus makes available in the salvation package. Hosea said My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Rare is the believer that can maintain steadfast faith for healing if they do not receive the teaching of scripture that enforces and produces faith. I encourage a person not to attend a church that does not preach and teach Divine healing. If they do, they will lack the faith and knowledge to act on that is necessary to receive healing.

 

The second reason a believer may fail to receive healing is lack of faith. Faith is like a muscle. We all have the same number of muscles in our bodies at birth. Through regular exercise a muscle can be built up and strengthened. Some folk have muscles that can lift heavy weight while others have allowed theirs through lack of use to atrophy. Faith for healing must be built up regularly through meditating on scriptures about healing and by exercising that faith when attacked with physical symptoms.

 

If the physical attack of sickness or disease is stronger or heavier than your individual faith can deal with, then you may not be able to receive the healing. And that’s where a lot of people are in their faith life. They wait until a huge crisis comes before building up their faith in the word, and then they find that they don’t measure up in faith to the size of the attack they find themselves up against! I personally take time just about every day to meditate on scriptures that promise healing and health. And then I exercise faith against every small physical attack that comes against my body. This keeps my personal faith strong.

Along the lines of lack of faith, be aware of things that can hinder personal faith, such as un-forgiveness (Mark 11:25) and a failure to walk in the love for toward your fellow believer (Galatians 5:6). These hinder our ability to make a close heart connection to the Lord.

  

The third reason a believer may not receive healing is their personal disobedience. Isaiah 1:19-20 reads: If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. We can receive God’s best only if we are walking in His will for our lives. There is a God purpose for every life. It is not possible to walk in health and be able to ward off the enemy’s attacks while living in known disobedience to God. Let me give you one example.

  

Years ago while pasturing a church I pioneered in a small city I got a call late one night from the wife of a faithful church member. Her husband had been rushed to the emergency room of a hospital and was unconscious with a hemorrhage in a blood vessel in the back of his neck and the base of his brain. As I entered the room she asked me to please pray for her husband to be healed and raised up. I laid my hands on him and as I asked the Lord to heal Him, I felt a sudden restraint. I felt within that I should not do this, as though the Lord wanted me to stop praying. This happened several times as I tried to pray for his healing. Finally I asked his wife if I could talk to her privately. I told her what happened and she related to me that several weeks earlier the doctor had told her husband that if he loved his family and wanted to live, he must immediately stop smoking. Her husband knew he should, but just didn’t do it. He knew that the Lord wanted him to quit. He knew that smoking wasn’t good for him, but persisted. The smoking had weakened his blood vessel walls and brought about a hemorrhage. I watched as his five family members gathered around his bed and he took his last breath later that night. His personal disobedience to the Father had cost this wonderful man that I knew and loved his physical life. I could give you many illustrations of this kind of thing happening to people.

 

It’s important for us to walk in the will of God for our lives in general as to life direction, and also in specifics as the Lord talks to us about what we do with our bodies. If we ignore Him or disobey, it could shorten our life.

Under this heading of disobedience, we can also mention a failure on the part of a believer to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit in the practical areas of life with respect to diet, exercise, and rest. All of these play a part in our placing ourselves in position to receive the best that the Father has for us.

 

Take time daily to meditate on the word and feed your faith about healing. Attend a good church that teaches the word concerning healing. Exercise your faith in small things. Walk in obedience to the will of the Father for your life and for your person. Health and healing belong to you. Walk in it!

Gentleness

You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your right hand has held me up, Your gentleness has made me great (Psalm 18:35)

One of the fruit of the spirit that the Father deposited in us in the new birth is gentleness as the King James Version reads or as most translations read as kindness. The best definition that I’ve come across for gentleness is a sweetness of temper which puts others at ease and shrinks from giving pain.

Donald Gee calls it strength under perfect control. Hydraulic power is able to crush metal or punch holes through thick steel, yet is able also with a careful operator to crack a walnut without destroying it. Gentleness is seen in a great athletic strong man who does not manhandle his wife and children. In kindness with a gracious, sweet spirit, stands firm for what is right and corrects what is wrong. He’s not quick-tempered and domineering, but is soft-spoken, firm and in self control.

Gentleness is not weakness. Gentleness is the ability to hold yourself in check. Gentleness is moral integrity. Gentleness is the desire to do the right thing in relation to others.

Many times people who assert themselves in the crowd are the ones with the weakest character. The bully on the playground picks on the other kids due to his insecurity. The loudest person in a praise service could be the weakest and is simply increasing the decibels seeking to assert some kind of spirituality (but please balance this out because that’s not always true)!

Gentleness enables us to control ourselves and remain calm and caring when others don’t treat us the way we think they should. Gentleness is one of God’s character traits that He desires that we manifest.

Notice the scriptures (The same Greek Word is translated both gentleness and kindness):

But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil (Luke 6:35). That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:7).

God has called each one of us to sweetness of temper that puts others at ease and shrinks from giving pain. Make these scriptures on gentleness a part of your meditation today:

And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will (2 Timothy 2:24-26). Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering (Colossians 3:12). And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you (Ephesians 4:32). To speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men (Titus 3:2). By purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love (2 Corinthians 6:6). But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy (James 3:17).

Looking unto Jesus

…forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead (Philippians 3:13). Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2).

The Father wants each of us to look away from our past successes and failures and keep our focus on Him and His ability that is available to us! This word for looking here in Hebrews is the Greek word aphorao and it means to purposely turn your eyes away from other things and to fix your gaze purposefully onto something.

We often allow the distractions of personal weakness, inferiority, and of our past to hinder us from moving forward in God. Peter walked on the water as long as he kept his eyes fixed on Jesus. He began to sink when removed his gaze from Him. And we stop moving forward when we focus on anything but the Jesus and His ability in us through the Word!

Abraham’s life was changed at age 75 when God gave him a vision of a multitude of children living in a land God promised him! A man from a pagan family was transformed into the father of faith by a Word from God. He became what he looked for!

Jacob’s life focus was changed after he wrestled with an angel an entire night. His name was changed from Jacob (deceiver) to Israel (prince with God)! His vision of his life was never the same.

Joseph’s life was transformed when he had a dream of being great leader. Because he kept his focus on this dream, circumstances never got him down! Sold as a slave by his brothers, lied about and thrust in a prison, Joseph rose to the top regardless of circumstances. And it was because his inner gaze was on the dream! And he became that leader he dreamed about years later, after successfully overcoming daunting impossibilities.

Moses was born with a death threat on his life. He killed a man at 40 years of age and spent the next 40 year living in a desert in exile. Moses’ life was forever changed by a Word from God in the burning bush. He became one of the greatest prophets of Israel because He moved his gaze to the Holy God revealed in the bush! His legacy lives on!

Focus on your past, and you’ll never overcome it. Turn your eyes away from the hardship and troubles life has brought you and look purposefully at Jesus by focusing on the Word, and you’ll become a transformed person! A change of gaze will change your life course! Forget what has happened. You can’t change it. But you can do something with today! And what you see determines how you live! Let’s keep our focus on the promises of God today. He is faithful that promised!

Yes, You Need to Confess Your Sin

But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. (8) If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (9) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (10) If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us ( 1 John 1:7-10).

There is a popular teacher in the body of Christ today that is teaching what I would call false doctrine, and I want to deal with this today. I’ve been asked about it by several church members, so here goes.

His idea is that Jesus died for ALL of our sins past, present, and future on the cross. And, since that is true, there is now no need to confess our current sins in order to be right with God. He states that 1 John 1:9 was written to counter the Gnostic heresy floating around during the first century church, and that it’s now not necessary for us as believers to confess our sins in order to be forgiven.  

Let’s examine this a bit. He is referring to what theologians call positional righteousness when he says a believer has all his sins forgiven in Christ and he need never confess them again. 1 Corinthians 1:30 reads, But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God — and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.  

Positionally in Christ, I have God’s wisdom, but I’m still encouraged to ask for it when I need it: If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

Positionally in Christ, I have righteousness. Yes, Jesus took all my sins on the cross, and I am RIGHT NOW the righteousness of God in Him! But that doesn’t do away with the need for me to practice self-judgment when I do wrong. Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin (James 4:17). For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. (1 Corinthians 11:31-32)

We err when we say that our positional righteousness in Christ does away with the need for self-judgment when we sin. This is called practical righteousness. To say that we need never confess sin again as a Christian is against the context of New Testament doctrine from the beginning to the end!

Don't forget that Jesus chastised the churches in Revelation 2 and 3 for their "sins," so if their sins were forgiven when Jesus died on the cross, why did He see the need to bring them up to these churches again? He told the church in Laodicea ((Rev. 3:14-20) that he would vomit them out of His mouth if they did not repent. He told them that He stands at the door and knocks desiring fellowship with them. Does that sound

like they don't need to deal with their own sin?

There is not only a positional righteousness that we walk in as Christians, but there is also a moment  by moment righteousness where we judge ourselves when we miss it and sin (1 Corinthians 11:31-32). Don't forget that Paul rebukes a Christian for living in sexual sin and turns him over to Satan until he repents in 1 Corinthians 5: 1-7. Annanias and Sapphira were struck dead by lying to God (Acts 5:1-11). Hymenaeus and Alexander were turned over to Satan by the Apostle Paul because they were blaspheming God’s name (1 Timothy 1:20). I could go on and on.

The Bible does teach positional righteousness in Christ, but it is FALSE DOCTRINE to state that there is no need to deal with personal sin in my life as a Christian.

Confess your sins when you know you do wrong. That keeps your conscience clean, and it helps you stay uncontaminated with the world’s ideology of living.

In closing, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. One way to view this is that we are deal with known sin when we commit it by confessing it. To confess means to agree with God that the behavior we’ve been involved in is sin. When we do this, then the next part of the verse kicks in: He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We deal with known sin we commit and God cleanses us and forgive us for the things we do that we don’t know are wrong, or that we are not aware of as being sin the moment we commit the offense.

Let’s choose today to walk closely with Jesus, and to stay in constant fellowship with Him. A strong conscience is a powerful defense against Satan and his schemes to harm your life!

The Right Foundation

Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: (25) and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. (26) "But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: (27) and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall." (Matthew 7:24-27)

The foundation of a house determines its strength. Wind and water are powerful forces of nature, but a house built on the right foundation can remain strong when they rise against it.

  

Likewise, a person who chooses to be a doer of the Word has a firm foundation in life. Adversity has many faces and comes to us from so many sources, but a person who chooses to live life by obeying the Word will come out on top every time!

  

The Word never changes nor will it ever fade into useless nothingness. It’s eternal (Matthew 24:35). The Word will always accomplish the purpose for which it was sent (Isaiah 55:11). The Word has been sent by the Father to produce forgiveness, healing, strength, love, joy, patience, victory, prosperity, and abundance. The Father is always watching over His Word to make it good where believed (Jeremiah 1:12). Earthly things wear out, but the Word endures and is ageless (Isaiah 40:8). It stronger than rock, and is forever established (Psalm 119:89). The Father will never break the covenant He has with His Word. It will always produce fruit, and will be honored by the Father in the life of whoever believes it (Psalm 89:34)!

  

Since the Father’s Word is so sure, the best assurance of a blessed future is obeying and lining your life up with the Word now. A step away from the Word is inviting disaster. A decision to go your own way at the neglect of the Word is an invitation for the thief to invade your life by stealing, killing, and destroying in some way. It’s a real bad idea to forsake the Word for your own way!

  

I’m still amazed at how a person can hear the Word week after week, month after month, and year after year, and still refuse to act on it when challenges come. Don’t ever let yourself get so burdened that you make a decision that is contrary to the Word. Never turn a deaf ear to God’s will as found in the Word. That decision is a disaster in the making. The flood and winds of life will destroy a person who willfully chooses to ignore the Father’s counsel.

    

Over the years I’ve seen people overcome great adversity and succeed when failure seemed apparent by simply firmly choosing to obey God’s Word when it was not the most convenient or the most comfortable thing to do. You’ll always come out on top if you’ll obey God and stand on His Word. It’s not always the easiest route. And yes, there are challenges when you choose the Father’s way through the Word. But the end result will always be the same. Victory, success, peace, and joy will rule your life!

Small Beginnings

For who has despised the day of small things (Zechariah 4:10).

Plants, trees, and shrubs begin life as a small seed that germinates. Human life begins as a zygote. Speech development in a child begins with one syllable words.

The kingdom of God operates on the principle of the seed. Something begins small and then grows a little at a time. When you are born again, God plants the seed of His nature within and it begins to grow and develop. With that seed from Him comes a talent, an ability, a skill, a calling.

Faithfulness in the small things causes the seed of His call on your life to germinate. No person in God’s kingdom starts out immediately after salvation functioning in their full calling. The seed must grow.

I began my ministry cleaning a large local church. There I learned humility, faithfulness, integrity, endurance, submission, respect for leaders, unselfishness, and how to adapt to different personalities. I also studied and developed my fellowship with God. The seedbed of my ministry now found its fertile soil in faithfulness in small things.

You may feel the call of a pastor, an evangelist, or a teacher in the body of Christ. You sense a seed of ministry in you. Find a way to be faithful in small things. Minister in nursing homes, prisons, Bible studies, home groups, in children's ministry, in youth groups. Assist your pastor in the local church in any way he needs you. Usher, greet, duplicate CD's, cut the grass, repair the building, help with the sound. Look for areas of need and lend a hand.

Promotion in ministry comes from the Lord. Don’t despise the day of small things. Those days are the proving ground for what God can do through you for the rest of your life.

Faith and Patience

Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise (Hebrews 10:35-36).Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, my soul has no pleasure in him (Hebrews 10:38).

 

Endurance or patience is an important ingredient of faith. It’s faith and patience that inherits the promises. The Greek word for endurance is hupomeno and it means to remain when under pressure. It’s the ability to keep your chin up when things aren’t going well. It’s the ability to remain joyful and expectant when it looks as though nothing you believe is coming to pass. It’s the ability to remain unmoved and unshaken by circumstances.

  

The very nature of what faith is makes patience so necessary in the faith fight. Faith is for what you don’t have in the physical realm yet. Faith takes the place of what God has promised you until it arrives in the physical and you can see it. Faith is the substitute for the thing God has promised you until you can physically see or feel it.

   

The Word promises healing, so you have prayed and exercised your faith. The pain increases and the symptoms worsen. Patience enables you to stand your ground in the tough time. Patience or endurance enables you to look away from the symptom and look at the promise of God, knowing that God is faithful to fulfill His Word.

   

The faith life is very challenging to the flesh! So many think that walking by faith means you receive instantly, but that is just not true! Abraham waited 25 years for the child of promise to come! And his patience enabled him to keep going strong when the impossibility of what he believed weighed on him.

  

Faith and patience are the twins of success! Patience keeps you from letting go of your faith! I remember when I was believing God to build our current building. It seemed that obstacles manifested every hour to keep it from happening. I had prayed, and I was believing that I received the answer to my prayer, which was a building being built.

 

At times I would get so tired of resisting the circumstances that just kept compounding! But it was the hupomeno, the ability to keep on going when the chips are down, that refused to let me quit. I gritted my teeth and praised God for honoring His Word! And you can see the results.

  

Don’t quit if you’re in a faith battle. Rest in the promises of God. He is faithful that promised. He watches over His Word to make it good. Heaven and earth may pass away, but His Word never will! Allow patience to under gird your faith today. Keep your eyes on God’s promises and not the unmoving circumstance. You will receive if you just don’t quit!